If you don’t rinse the rice, it will be gummy. If you don’t parboil the rice, it’ll be dry and tough when it comes out of the oven. If you don’t use yogurt, eggs, and oil, it will never get golden and crisp. Now you know!

These meatballs are gilded with lots of strong spices, set in a cooling swoosh of yogurt and finished with the sweet brightness of a mint pesto. Sound fancy? Not really. We use ground lamb, which is naturally fatty and can be baked without sacrificing juiciness or a charred crust.

This creamy, tangy sauce with a garlicky, black pepper punch is ubiquitous on platters of grilled meats sold by halal street carts in major cities across the U.S. We can't stop drizzling it on everything from pita sandwiches to roasted vegetables to crisp salads.

Mast, which translates to yogurt in Farsi, is a staple side dish on most Persian tables. The yogurt can be mixed with shallots, grated cooked beets, cooked spinach, or, most commonly, with Persian cucumbers, mint, and dried rose.

If you like lox, bacon, or anchovies, you should thank salt—and time. That's all that it takes to turn supermarket limes into this pleasantly salt-tart-funky pantry staple, the sibling of preserved lemons.

We love chef Michael Solomonov's hummus all by itself, but it's also an incredible foundation for any seasonal toppings, from harissa-spiced shaved carrots to spiced black-eyed peas to fresh spring peas and pickled onions.

Before sugar became commonly available, dates were an important sweetener in Arabia, and even though this date ice cream must be a recent addition to the Arabian culinary repertoire, it makes use of dates as the main sweetener just as they did at the advent of Islam and for long after.

Zhoug is a spicy herb sauce of Yemenite origin found in Syria and Israel. It’s often the go-to condiment for falafel and is eaten with bread. It’s a must with Shakshuka, and you’ll probably find yourself stirring it into scrambled eggs, spreading it on a sandwich, mixing it with yogurt to make a dip, or just eating it by the spoonful.

Lamb chops or lamb ribs—it's not what cut you buy that matters, it's the technique that makes this work. Stew chickpeas and carrots in a spicy harissa paste, and top everything off with yogurt and everything spice, a blend inspired by an everything bagel.

This dish originates from Bizerte, the northernmost city in Africa. It is sweet and spicy and beautifully aromatic. Serve it as a main course with some plain rice or couscous and something green, like sautéed spinach or Swiss chard.

Arab salad, chopped salad, Israeli salad—whatever you choose to call it, there is no escaping it. Wherever you go, a Jerusalemite is most likely to have a plate of freshly chopped vegetables—tomato, cucumber, and onion, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice—served next to whatever else they are having.

The classic Middle Eastern salad gets an of-the-moment upgrade with nutritional quinoa. The tiny powerhouse is loaded with protein, making this dish both a delicious vegetarian main course and a summer-suitable side.

This dish is easy to make, yet looks stunning, and has the most delicate and exotic combination of flavors (rose water, saffron, and cinnamon), which takes you straight to the famous Jemaa el Fna in Marrakech. Serve with rice or plain couscous.